Just got a note from Evan Lewis tipping me off to a BBC production of Secret Agent X-9 — originally a newspaper comic strip written by Hammett and drawn by Alex (Flash Gordon) Raymond. A little neo-Old Time Radio, for those of you with a taste for that sort of thing.
Plus, on the subject of Hammett, and New York, the proposed Johnny Depp remake of The Thin Man has been put on hold, at least for awhile — according to news stories all over the web.
And I heard that a director, in an interview, denies being involved in a movie version of The Big Knockover. That’s one that could be great or mightily indifferent, depending on how it is done.
After watching such films as the Coppola-produced Hammett dance to life back in the day, I’m not greatly interested in media adaptations any more — I still kind of like hearing about the movies and radio shows made when Hammett was alive, with or without his direct involvement, but something done now is just a footnote to Hammett in Hollywood (though a good Depp Nick & Nora would kick Hammett’s name bigtime into current pop culture — he’d be another figure young clueless people on Twitter wonder about — Who Is This Guy? I’ve Never Heard of Him!).
